Principal Project Manager

Heaven Hill Brands•Louisville, KY

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Principal Project Manager – Engineering will provide senior leadership, project management, and engineering support across Heaven Hills’ capital portfolio including distilling and bottling operations. A substantial portion of the role will be spent directly leading large, complex, and high-risk capital projects and/or front-end development of future major investments, including scope definition, alternatives evaluation, preliminary engineering and basis of design, cost and schedule development, financial justification, and Early Equipment Management (EEM). This position will collaborate across all levels of the organization on needs and priorities to support existing operations and growth, with an emphasis on high-quality products, employee involvement, continuous improvement, and profitability. In addition to direct project execution, the Principal Project Manager will help advance and standardize Heaven Hill's capital project delivery process by integrating EEM, front-end planning, project controls, risk and commercial management, construction readiness, commissioning/CQV, startup readiness, asset turnover, and lessons learned into practical, repeatable ways of working. The role will coach project managers and site teams and will collaborate closely with Manufacturing, Maintenance, Safety, Finance, Procurement, IT/OT, and Engineering.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or related degree
Minimum fifteen (15) years’ experience in engineering project management, preferably in an industrial or manufacturing environment, with demonstrated leadership or large, complex, multi-million-dollar capital projects
Substantial owner-side experience, or equivalent direct accountability for owner outcomes, leading capital projects from front-end development through design, procurement, construction, commissioning/start-up, turnover, and benefits realization.
Proficient computer skills with experience utilizing computer aided design software, industrial control software, and project management software
Demonstrated success developing, improving, or institutionalizing capital project delivery processes such as front-end loading/stage-gate systems, EEM, or comparable project-development frameworks, with evidence of practical adoption across teams
Strong front-end engineering and scope-development capability, including alternatives analysis, basis of design, estimate maturity, schedule development, risk assessment, constructability, business-case development, and execution planning.
Hands-on construction-management experience, including contractor selection and management, constructability, shutdown and tie-in planning, field safety and quality, change management, commissioning, and startup
Strong project-controls and commercial skills, including integrated schedules, cost forecasting, cash flow, contingency, risk registers, change control, contract administration, procurement and bid strategy, and negotiation of commercial issues
Demonstrated ability to integrate maintenance, reliability, operability, safety, asset-data, and lifecycle-cost considerations into equipment and facility design, commissioning, and turnover
Experience leading multidisciplinary technical teams and the ability to read and interpret process, mechanical, civil/structural, electrical, controls, and facility drawings and specifications sufficiently to challenge design and execution decisions
Experience applying engineering codes, standards, and regulatory requirements while executing capital projects in manufacturing environments with significant safety and process hazards
Strong financial and business acumen, including ROI, cost-benefit analysis, total installed cost, lifecycle cost, cost avoidance, and capital justification
Proven ability to influence, coach, and develop experienced project managers, engineers, and site leaders without direct authority; strong executive communication and stakeholder-alignment skills
Highly analytical, self-directed, and organized, with strong problem-solving and decision-making skills; proficient with Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Smartsheet, Microsoft Project, or equivalent project-management and scheduling software

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Business, or related field
Project Management Professional (PMP) and/or Professional Engineer (PE) certification; Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt or comparable continuous-improvement certification
Advanced project-controls experience, including Primavera P6, enterprise cost/schedule systems, quantitative risk analysis, and/or earned-value concepts; experience with major EPC, EPCM, or construction-management contracting strategies and commercial negotiations is valued
Experience implementing Early Equipment Management (EEM), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), reliability-centered design, maintainability reviews, or comparable asset-lifecycle practices within capital projects; controls/automation, OT/MES, site planning, instrumentation, or electrical power distribution experience is a differentiator
Experience in distilled spirits, food and beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical, or other high-hazard/process manufacturing environments

Responsibilities

Lead the successful implementation of capital projects through effective collaboration and buy-in from all stakeholders including leaders, peers, team members, internal/external customers
Lead front-end development of complex or strategically important capital opportunities, including problem definition, alternatives and Best Value Options Analysis, preliminary engineering and basis of design, EEM, constructability, cost estimate, integrated schedule, risk register, execution strategy, ROI/ business case, Project Success Criteria (PSC), and Capital Authorization Request (CAR).
Collaborate with various sites to deliver capital projects on time, on budget, and safely
Ensure project compliance with local, state and federal regulations
Advance and standardize Heaven Hill’s capital project delivery process by integrating EEM, front-end planning, project controls, risk and change management, design reviews, construction readiness, commissioning/CQV, asset turnover, and lessons learned into practical, repeatable ways of working.
Serve as Project Manager and technical leader for strategic and cost improvement projects across Processing, Bottling/Packaging Lines, Controls and Automation, New Facilities and Infrastructure upgrades
Interpret, and properly apply related Engineering codes and standards to capital projects as required
Drive project controls and commercial discipline, including baseline and recovery schedules, cost forecasting and cash flow, contingency, risk management, procurement and contracting strategy, bid evaluation, change order management, contract administration, and claims avoidance
Embed maintainability, reliability, operability, safety, and lifecycle-cost considerations into equipment and facility design
Coach and mentor project managers, engineers, site leaders, and project teams; conduct project health reviews, challenge assumptions, share lessons learned, and build capability in project development and execution without relying on direct reporting authority
Offer recommendations to system and equipment designs to increase productivity, reliability, sustainability, and reduce cost
Plan and recommend capital equipment purchases to support and improve manufacturing processes, and completes financial analysis for such recommendations
Monitor implementation of capital projects to ensure that standards and expectations for each objective are completed as planned
Partner with Operations, Maintenance, Safety, Finance, Sourcing, IT, and business leaders to make data-driven capital decisions, communicate project status, risks, and recommendations to senior leadership, and identify opportunities to improve productivity, reliability, sustainability, cost, and capital-efficiency.